A fighter from South Ossetia, who evacuated the bodies of Ukrainians, is presented to the Hero of Russia

Atsamaz Buraev, a native of South Ossetia who died in the SMO zone, was presented to the title Hero of Russia.

"At the cost of his own life, an officer of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation saved his comrades. Without hesitation, he fulfilled his military duty, showing exceptional devotion and dedication. His feat is a model of courage and selflessness for his colleagues," the award list says.

On January 27, in the Kherson region, at the forefront of the company's defense, Senior Lieutenant Buraev checked the readiness to conduct defense. When returning to the company's command and observation post, a group of servicemen was attacked by enemy FPV drones. The fighters opened fire with small arms and destroyed four enemy UAVs, after which they were forced to move to the nearest shelter. The position they occupied turned out to be extremely unprofitable: an open space practically devoid of natural shelters. The enemy, using air superiority, continued to attack the group with kamikaze drones. Ammunition was running out, maneuvers were limited, and further use of small arms became impossible.

"At the moment of the next attack, when the enemy FPV drone was diving on the group, Senior Lieutenant Buraev, realizing the mortal danger and the inevitability of death, showed exceptional courage, heroism and the highest degree of self-sacrifice. The officer pushed his subordinates aside without hesitation and deliberately moved forward to meet the enemy's attacking FPV drone, taking the blow for himself. The bold, decisive and selfless actions of the commander made it possible to prevent the death of personnel, preserve the combat capability of the unit and ensure the further fulfillment of the assigned combat mission," the award list says.

Buraev's commander Soslan Kotolov said that he had shown heroism before that — he carried out the bodies of the dead, not only his own, but also the bodies of the dead Ukrainians, under fire from the battlefield.

"We spent almost half a year, until January 2026, in the Orekhovsky direction...Atsamaz gathered six fighters there into one squad that carried the wounded from the battlefield — not a single wounded was left, all were taken away. In addition, they carried out the bodies of the dead. Not only Russian — four Ukrainians were taken out too. And not only those who died at that time — there were bodies that lay on the battlefield for two, two and a half years. It was very important to him, Atsamaz took it very hard that the fighters remained unburied. Although there was not a single Ossetian among those they took out — it was just very important to him," the officer said.

Relatives of Atsamaz Buraev expressed gratitude to the fighters who had already taken his body from the place of death.

"It is always dangerous, especially since Ukrainians have already realized how important it is for Ossetians to return the body — they monitor the places where the dead lie and hit those who come to pick them up. Sometimes evacuation teams lose several people trying to return the body of a dead soldier," Buraev's sister said.